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Against the grain

15 January 2000

By Ehsan Masood

IN TWO week’s time, a David and Goliath style diplomatic battle is set to resume in Montreal when Africa takes on the US in the latest skirmish in the war over genetically modified food. The fight is over the US’s plans to weaken a proposed UN treaty on the safety of GM technology. The venue is the relatively level playing field of a UN meeting. And what’s more, the EU is sympathetic to the cause, which leaves the US with few allies beyond Canada and Latin America.